Lemon Mochi Cupcakes with Lemon Basil Buttercream Frosting

I have had a crazy couple of weeks! Between traveling, deadlines, dealing with normal life “stuff”, and then contracting a nasty stomach bug and pinkeye, I think I’m ready to sleep for the next 10 years. So, to make a long story short, I’m finally getting around to telling you about my day at the Orange County Fair and sharing the recipe for the lemon mochi cupcakes with lemon basil buttercream frosting that I demoed!

The fair was fabulous, with plenty to see and do. The Fuji family came out to enjoy the day and give me some moral support. In fact, at one point during my demo, Bug called out from the audience, “Hi Mommy!” It made my day.

I did a demo of my lemon mochi cupcake recipe that I developed specially for the fair. I think it went well—all the chairs were filled (no small feat at 11 o’clock in the morning!), no one left, and no one fell asleep! The only mistake I made was forgetting to add the vanilla extract to my cupcake batter during the demo. Not bad considering I was going on memory, and no biggie, since the cupcakes the audience sampled were baked ahead of time and had the vanilla extract in them!

In the afternoon I was one of five judges for the Cupcake Classic—one of the OC Fair’s most popular events. There were over 100 entries. Multiply that by the required 4 cupcakes that each entrant must bring, and we had over 400 cupcakes sitting on our judging tables! There were five categories that the cupcakes were divided into: Professional, Amateur-Chocolate, Amateur-Fruit, Amateur-Other, and Kids. Each of the judges took a category to judge. Here we all are after judging: Babette Pepaj (BakeSpace), Amy Jurist (Amy’s Culinary Adventures), (The Cupcake Activist), me!, and Rachel Klemek (BLACKMARKET BAKERY)

Photo Credit: Babette Pepaj, bakespace.com

I was put in charge of judging both youth divisions: 9 — 13 year olds and 14 — 18 year olds. I have to say that the entries blew me away. In the youth divisions every entry gets a ribbon, either blue, red, or white. All of the entries were of such high caliber that I couldn’t bring myself to give out any white ribbons. Those kids worked hard and it showed. The overall winner of the 9 — 13 year old category was a boy who watched the judging anxiously at the edge of the stage. He submitted a german chocolate cake cupcake—light chocolate cake with a toasted nut and coconut frosting. It was killer. It’s too bad that the youth divisions don’t get to go up against the adult divisions to compete for best in show, because I think his cupcake might have taken them all! I talked to him and his mom afterwards and she said that although she helped him figure out how some of the baking stuff worked, etc., he did all the work. The overall winner of the 14 — 18 year old category was also a boy, and he submitted a chocolate kalua “cub”cake. It was decorated with the face of a bear and was very cute.

I enjoyed getting to taste such a wide variety of cupcakes and spend time with the other wonderful judges! It was also wonderful to see Louise Mellor who is the in-house chef for the OC Fair and one of my favorite people.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, whisk together the flour, mochiko, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter, eggs, egg yolks, yogurt, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Beat everything together at medium speed until the batter is smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until pale gold and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

4. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, use a pairing knife to cut a small well in the center of each cupcake. Pipe the lemon curd into the center of each cupcake, then frost with the buttercream frosting. These cupcakes are best the day they are made, although they will keep for a few days at room temperature.

Lemon Basil Buttercream

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and the lemon juice. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy on medium speed, about 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency.

3. Add the chopped basil and stir in until evenly incorporated. Use and store the frosting at room temperature because the frosting will set if chilled. The frosting can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

I wish I could’ve seen you at the fair! I went the weekend before, and the weekend after, when you were there, we had plans out of town. But this post makes it a little better..thanks for filling us in with these pics! :) Now I NEED to try these cupcakes..I just went to the baking supply store yesterday and stocked up on cupcake liners and other supplies so I am ready!!

They look so wonderfully good! How exciting your demo went so well,(hey doesn’t every one forget the vanilla once in a while?) I wish I could be there! You do seem busy, that great! Miss having you around :)

You know I read the whole post. Loved all the photos…of your family and the judges and you on state with your chef whites. But you know how sometimes one thing will trigger something you can’t get beyond?

For me it was this: ‘Bug called out from the audience, “Hi Mommy!” It made my day.’

It took me back 25 years to a little girl on stage with her preschool class getting ready to perform holiday music for a room filled with parents. All of a sudden I hear, ‘Hi, Mom!’ It was so cute, she got quite a good laugh and I guess it egged on her because she couldn’t help herself, ‘Hi Dad’ was next. Thanks for the memory…sometimes it is the food, but this time the food was just the vehicle for me to read that one line and take a trip down memory lane. A good one!

Oh, how beautiful (and the cup cake ain’t bad either, heehee). I miss you, been crazy busy and trying to catch up with my favs (of which you are at the top of that!) It looks like the Fair was SO fun! I’m glad you’re feeling better and these cupcakes are def winners!!! Love~

Love, love basil and lemon together! Will be making these cupcakes. Looks like you had a great time at the fair – judging is harder than it appears (or at least that has been my experience). Happy weekend to you :)

Awesome! I hope I also get to judge a cupcake contest. tasting those gorgeous looking cupcakes is an experience I would like to have. Thanks for the recipe of your Lemon Mochi Cupcakes. It is wonderful to have some variations for my kids.